Reflections on 12 Months of the Pandemic
It was just over a year ago today, Friday March 13, 2020; I drove to a town outside Toronto for two meetings with past clients. I loved having these catch-ups and hearing the stories of business success and new challenges, but it was markedly different this time: "I'm not sure if we will all start working from home soon" ..."I think we are going to be shutting down today, we are just waiting to hear.” We could feel change coming, it was palpable.
I had my story of a colleague who was asked to work from home the week prior because someone in their workplace had a spouse who attended an early March 26,000 person mining convention in Toronto and a conference participant was diagnosed with coronavirus. Others had their stories of friends in Europe or the US deciding if it was safer to come back to Canada.
During these last meals, on Friday the 13th, we talked about ourselves, our plans and what a shutdown would mean for our businesses. We brainstormed ideas but it all seemed a bit unreal, like we were in a fog. We really had no idea what the shutdown would mean, and what the future had in store for us. Our goodbyes felt very final (for a while), sincere handshakes and gentle hugs, we wished one another luck and all the best. Already there was a hesitancy in the air about being too close to each other.
I think of that day often, it is so clear in my mind, it was deeply emotional because I knew it was an ending, I could feel it, and it was - everything spiralled after March 13.
Driving back to Toronto that day, I listened to the news of hoarding and shortages of toilet paper and bottled water. Hoarding toilet paper and water did not appeal to me; I thought about what I wanted to hoard. It was the three C's for me: Coffee, Chocolate and Chips. We had enough coffee, so I stopped on that trip home and bought lots of chocolate and chips. By Sunday I had eaten most of the chips and a lot of the chocolate, I am not a good hoarder.
What are your strongest memories of the days leading up to the lockdowns?
On March 14, 2020, the Canadian government strongly urged those travelling abroad to come home now; we were advised to cancel any future travel plans. This was getting very real.
For me and my clients, business uncertainty emerged, proposals were put on hold, individuals and businesses shifted to preserving cash. Moving business to remote work was critical, while continuing to provide goods and services to clients, and get paid. We muddled through, and we are thankful for all the modern technology of 2020.
On March 17, 2020, our Premier declared a state of emergency in Ontario and by March 23, he ordered the closure of all non-essential businesses for 14 days. By then most business had transitioned to remote work, downtown Toronto was near empty, the streets were quiet, we were hunkered down at home. The 14 days extended to 30, 60, 90, 120 days.
For most of the past year Toronto has been in full or partial lockdown, stay-at-home from March to July 2020, partial re-opening in August; then back to Red Zone Nov 10 and full lockdown Nov 22, ever so slight re-opening March 8th, 2021. I read somewhere that Toronto has been the most locked down city in North America, I am not sure if that is true, but it sure seems believable.
The early days of covid lockdown challenged us in ways we could never imagine. Making change, accepting change, navigating change are all part of the coaching process; it is something we try to manage. But sometimes change is thrust upon us and we must adapt quickly. In our office we pivoted in mere hours, one minute were trying to decide if it was safe to serve coffee to clients in the office, the next we were relocating everything to our homes. It all seemed to happen quickly in the end. I was struck by how agile and creative we all were, we just did it, we dealt with each challenge as it came up.
Final Note of Gratitude
Throughout the past year of pandemic madness, I have so many people in my life that I am grateful for. My amazing family who just went with it and made it easy for us all to work from home together; Aneesha my marketing coordinator who onboarded in covid and who makes everything calm and uncomplicated; my colleagues whose courage. creativity and agility inspire me everyday; my friends who were always there and listening; my incredible clients who teach me and leave me in awe each time we meet; and suppliers who were fair and endlessly helpful. I feel lucky to associate with honest, fair, generous, and inspiring people in all aspects of my life and business.
Huge thanks to each of you! This pandemic will be our story, and we will exaggerate the tales, because why not, and between our stories of empty grocery shelves; toilet paper shortages; panic buying; abandoned streets; negative oil prices; layered masks; endless handwashing; and the devastating impact of human loss; we will fondly recall the character of those closest to us - their love, support, friendship, empathy, humour, and flexibility.